Texas-San Antonio @ Tulsa preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 2, 2014 ) Texas-San Antonio 70, Tulsa 72

Tulsa got its offense in gear last time out with a season high in points and hopes to build off that effort when Texas-San Antonio pays a visit for a non-conference contest Tuesday night. Senior guard Corey Henderson Jr. scored a career-high 24 points as the Golden Hurricane rolled to a 92-72 victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday after suffering back-to-back losses.

“I thought we came out with great intensity and we played extremely hard,” Tulsa coach Frank Haith told reporters after his team climbed back to .500. “Offensively, we were outstanding the whole game.” The Golden Hurricane are scoring 79.3 points per game and shooting 48.7 percent from the field overall after draining 31-of-57 from the field on Saturday as Henderson - who had managed to score just eight in the first five contests - connected on 8-of-12 shots. Senior forward Junior Etou leads Tulsa in scoring (17.3) and rebounding (6.3) and shoots 58.8 percent from the floor after recording just two points in the season-opening loss to Lamar. Conference USA’s UTSA, which is averaging 78.5 points, won its last two games by double digits after dropping consecutive contests to Bradley (71-69) and Coastal Carolina (83-69).

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (4-2): Two active freshmen lead the team in scoring and Adrian Rodriguez, another first-year player, was lost for the season with a knee injury in the opener after scoring 10 points in 14 minutes. Guard Jhivvan Jackson tops the Roadrunners at 15.3 points per contest, draining 14-of-35 from 3-point range, and backcourt mate Keaton Wallace is next at 13.7. Sophomore guard Giovanni De Nicolao (9.2 points) lead the team in assists (3.8) and steals (1.7) while junior forward Nick Allen scores nine per game and shoots 55.3 percent from the field.

ABOUT TULSA (3-3): The Golden Hurricane have struggled on the boards in the first six games, getting outrebounded 38.7-34.2 on average and allowing 89 offensive rebounds. “We’ve got to keep working on it and keep blocking out,” Haith told reporters. “I think the biggest thing that has to happen for us is to have our guards help with the rebounds. It’s not necessarily blocking out; it’s those loose balls and scrapping for loose balls.” Junior guard Sterling Taplin (14.0 points, team-high 4.2 assists) and junior forward DaQuan Jeffries (13.0 points) have also contributed offensively.

TIP-INS

1. The Golden Hurricane needed overtime to turn back UTSA 72-70 in the last meeting in 2014.

2. Roadrunners sophomore G George Willborn III is averaging 11.3 points in wins and 2.0 in losses this season.

3. Tulsa is fourth in the American Athletic Conference in points scored and last in rebounds per game entering Monday.

PREDICTION: Tulsa 72, Texas-San Antonio 70